James Bond Fans Voted On Who Should Replace Daniel Craig In The Franchise

Idris Elba

While Daniel Craig isn't quite done playing James Bond yet, the question of who will take over the role once he is done has become a hot topic once again. While it will likely be some time before the powers that be at Eon Productions make a decision on a successor, that hasn't stopped the question from being asked to James Bond fans. A recent poll of 1000 UK fans of the super spy asked who they would like to see be the next James Bond. Over a quarter of those polled choose Idris Elba, who has been the name most attached to the role in recent days, though he's followed closely by Tom Hardy. Check out the results below.

Idris Elba 26%Tom Hardy 22%Tom Hiddleston 11%Aidan Turner 5%James Norton 5%

Idris Elba took 26% of the vote among 1000 fans polled by UK movie theater chain ODEON as reported by Express. However, 22% choose Venom actor Tom Hardy. While recent reports that Idris Elba was actually being actively considered for the role turned out to be false, that hasn't stopped many from believing that it's time to see the role gain some diversity and that Elba would be the perfect man to take that step. Tom Hardy was a name that was also rumored as a potential new Bond back before Daniel Craig had agreed to return for another film, and while he never commented on the rumors, he said the reason he wouldn't talk about it was because he didn't want the role to go away, which implied he was interested.

Tom Hiddleston puts up a decent 11% in the poll. Hiddleston was an early name attached to the role in the days post-Spectre, but it seems that if he ever was truly being considered, the focus changed, as his name seemed to fall out of the conversation. Having said that, one would assume that the next time the role comes up, everybody will get a fair shot.

The other two names would seem to be long shots from the fan perspective. Aiden Turner is probably best known to American audiences as Kili from Peter Jackson's The Hobbit trilogy. James Norton is probably even less known on this side of the pond. His focus has been largely English television at this point so if you're not a fan you may have missed him. Both these names may seem unlikely, but few people knew who Daniel Craig was before he was cast in the role.

While we know Daniel Craig will be back as James Bond at least once, we don't really know what's happening after that. It hasn't been officially announced this is his last go round. If it is, then Eon Productions may start looking for a new Bond sooner rather than later to make sure we don't go too long without a Bond movie. Otherwise, there may be an attempt to woo Craig to come back once again, with new actors only being considered if that doesn't work out.

Dirk Libbey
Content Producer/Theme Park Beat

CinemaBlend’s resident theme park junkie and amateur Disney historian, Dirk began writing for CinemaBlend as a freelancer in 2015 before joining the site full-time in 2018. He has previously held positions as a Staff Writer and Games Editor, but has more recently transformed his true passion into his job as the head of the site's Theme Park section. He has previously done freelance work for various gaming and technology sites. Prior to starting his second career as a writer he worked for 12 years in sales for various companies within the consumer electronics industry. He has a degree in political science from the University of California, Davis.  Is an armchair Imagineer, Epcot Stan, Future Club 33 Member.